Indicator



Jan. so, 1945'; H' F. MALONE 2,368,313 I INDICATOR Fild Dec.- 12, 1941'2 sheets sheet l Illllllllllllllllll l mum-Am IIIIIIIIIIIIII'IIJHII n"I v I Patented Jan. so, 1945' N T TATES PATENT orricn" ncnner r;accicncricstcw-t art-Warner Dementia Chicago pmtionof VirginiaAppiicatbn necenrlierlz. 1e41, serum. 422,0

r I 1 ncnrnn (01.111- -95);

My invention relates to indicators and ismore particularly concernedwith the provision of an electrical'indicator especially designed foruse on automotive vehicles to indicate the quantity of gasoline in themain gasoline tank, the engine An object of my inventionis to provide anv V 15 ll of this member likewisehas attached thereto afiectedby thevibration of the vehicle than indicator of'the type described. whichisless the indicators now in use. I

Another object of my invention is to provide an indicator which is moresensitivethan the indicators heretofore known. Another object oi myinvention is to provide an 1 indicator which is more'rugsed and easierand cheaperto manufacture than the indicators heretotore known.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as thedescription proceeds.

Inthedrawings,'

- Fig. 1- is an enlarged sectional view oi anindicatortaken on the-planel- -l of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is an irregular section'taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

mg. a is an irregular section taken on the line I MofFigJ."

Fig.6isapartial sectionandista kenonthe lineHoiii'ig.2.-

Fig. 7 is another section through the pointer driving mechanism and istaken onthe line 1-1 Fig.5.

proved indicator as comprising a sheet metalcup III havinga'removable-iace 12, which may be secured inplacebymeans of screws ll.Brackets "and l8aresecuredtothebottomofthecup II by suitable means suchas rivets "and 22.

The upper ends of these brackets, -as'viewed in Fig. 1, are providedwith teeth 24 and I} which' may be engaged by a tool inserted throughopenings :l and II for pivoting the brackets about their respectiverivets it and 22 and these vehicle and iscontrclled by a rheostat orother brackets are irictionally retained in adjusted' position.

Bracket it has an upstanding flange 32 carry- .ing a.v U-shapedbimetallic member which is attached to the flange 32 by a rivet or any,other suitable means. The U-shaped'member 3|, has a'flxed leg ll. ands.tree leg '0 which have the same eii'ectivelength. A pin 2 is carriled bythrough a hole ll provided in pointer driving.

the free end of the leg 0 and w link I.

' Bracket It has an'upstanding flange to which is attached. by rivet II,the fl'x'ed leg '82 of U-shaped bimetallic member 64. The free 188 a pinit which freely through a hole it provided in a compensating linkfl.

Apointer clinic has one endpivotally mounted in the bo'ttomoicupll and asecond end pivoton shaft 64 for rotation therewith. This pointer hasanoiiset section II which passes through an arcuate opening 12infaceplate]; and it willbe 2 understood by those skinei 'int'lie artthatthe upper end of It moves over indicts carried by the upperportionoithe face plate i2.

so that the politic not Pointer indicate'sjto driver oi theautomobile-the engine temper.- ature, quantity oi gasoline in the fueltank, engine oil pressure, or other characteristic which theindicator isintended to indicate.

pointer a and pointer shaft '04 er -wenby a driving 14- attached to .thecunt. 35 This arm 14 has a curved slot IQ in which a pin n is slidablvlocated. pin is passes freely a circular hole in driving link In and isfixedly mounted in one end oi the compensating link 02 which is offsetso. that the ends or links I and which are attached to the bimetallicmember's mayflie injthe same plane."

Washers]!- and 84 are preferably "press v fitted onto thegends'of thepin 18 to limit lateral separationo'it'helinksltlfandarmlt. d'lnthedrawingsIhaveillustl-atedmynewlm- 5 all also asadditional-insurance accidental withdrawal oi the pin from the openingsprovided-in these links and this-arm.

the'art that where my indicator is applied to automotive vehicles, theindicator is commonly located on the can or instrument board or theelectrical current varying means, usually located at some distance fromthe indicator.

Free leg 40 of U-shaped bimetallic memmunication through wire 90 withvariable rheostat 92. This rheostat comprises a resistance 84 and aslider 88, which is moved over the resistance in accordance withvariations in engine temperature, engine oil pressure, gasolinequantity, orany othencharacteristic to be indicated, asis wellunderstood in the art. The slider 98 is grounded as indicated at 98.

Heating coil 88 and terminal 90 are connected to automobllebattery I bywire I02 and the ignition switch I04. The battery I00 is grounded asindicated at I08. The heating coil I08 is provided for the free leg ofthe bimetallic member 54 and has one end connected to the batteryterminal 80. The other end of this coil is preferably soldered to thebimetallic member, as indicated at I I0, whereby this coil is groundedas indicated at H2 in Fig. l.

The terminals 88 and 90 are illustrated as being mounted on aninsulating strip I I4. This strip is carried in a recess in the bottomof the cup i0 and is held in place by tongues H8, which form integralparts of the cup l0. Terminals 88 and 80 preferably have threadedextensions which pro-- ject through the base of the cup in spacedrelation thereto and provide convenient means for connecting theterminal 90 with the battery wire I02 and the terminal 88 with the wire90 leadin to the rheostat 92.

In a particular instrument for use in automotive vehicles I haveobtained excellent results where the rheostat has a value of from 0 to100 ohms, the heatingcoil 88 of the actuating thermostat or bimetallicmember 34 has a resistance of 75 ohms, and the heating coil I08 of thecompensating thermostat or bimetallic member 54 has a resistance of 90ohms. In this particular instrument the pointer actuating arm 14 formsan angle of 8 with the pointer 88, as clearly' shown in Fig. 5. Thisangle of 8, controls the compensation for voltage variation when thepointer is at the low end of its scale, as shown in Fig. 5, whereas themovement of the compensating thermostat or bimetallic-member 84 con.

trols the compensation for voltage variation when the pointer is at thehigh end of its scale.

In the particular-instrument which I have described, the slot I8 iscurved. as clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, as in thisparticular instrument such a curved slot has produced the best results.I plan to design other instruments and the particular shape of the slot18 in the.

actuating arm may vary in diilerent instruments having differentelectrical and. heat characteristicsand wherein the thermostatic orbimetallic membersare located at diflerent angles with respect to eachother. I

I wish to direct particular attention to the fact that in my improvedindicator described in plication the bimetallic members and 84 do notcarry any of the weight of the pointer. P inter shaft and pointeractuating arm, since the pointer shaft is mounted directly in the case.It is, therefore, only necessary for the bimetallic members l4 and 84 tostabilize the pointer system against the small amount of unbalancedweight of the links 48 and 82. Any vibration in the in strumentresulting from vehicle vibration will be quickly damped out because ofthe fact that the links 48 and 82 are connected to bimetallic elementswhich vibrate about different centers.

The foregoing features greatly increase the stability of the instrumentand permit the use of more sensitive elements. The scope of applicationof the instrument is thus greatly broadened and while I have describedthe instrument as being applied to an automotive vehicle, ;it is notlimited to such use and may be made so sensitive that it will accuratelyindicate such slight changes as the changes in resistance of nickel wirewith changes in the temperature of such wire.

It is to be particularly noted that the indicator disclosed herein ismade of a relatively few parts which are of simple and ruggedconstruction. This feature of my'invention results in long andtrouble-free life for the instrument and provides simplicity andcheapness of manufacture.

In operation, the current through the rheostat 92 and coil 88, causesthis coil to heat the leg 40 of the actuating thermostat or bimetallicmember 34. Such heating of the leg 4|) produces a flexing of this legwhich moves the link 48 to the right, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 5, thedegree of movement, of course, depending upon the degree of heating orthe leg 40. Movement of the link 48 tends to move the pointer in thesame direction and unless compensating means were provided the positionof the pointer would vary for any given position of the slider 98 withvariations in voltage of the battery I00.

Such voltage variations are compensated for by shifting the point ofengagement between the link 48 and actuating arm I4 so that the pointerassumes a definite position for each position of the slider 98regardless of variation in voltage. This voltage compensation iscontrolled by coil I08 which is connected directly across the battery atall times and Whose heating eiiect, therefore, varies with variations inbattery voltage. This coil I08 heats the free leg 58 of voltagecornpensating thermostat or bimetallic member 84 which flexes an amountproportional to the heating eflfect' of the coil I08. Compensating link82 connects the end of leg 88 with pivot pin 18 and links 48 and itconstitute, in effect, a toggle which determines the position of the pin18 lengthwise of the slot 18 in pointer actuating arm 14.

When the voltage increases, the pin I8 is moved further toward the freeendof the actuating arm 14 so that the increased movement of the link48, d to the increased heating and flexing of leg 0 of actuatingthermostat 34, will not produce an unduly great movement of the pointer88. On the other hand, when the voltage drops below normal, the pin 18is moved inwardly toward pointer shaft 84 so that the lesser movement oflink 48 resulting from the lesser heating of actuating thermostat 34will produce the same movement 01' the pointer 88.

My new and improved indicator is inherently compensated for variationsin .ambient temperature asa result of the particular shapes of the .bi-

metallic members 84 and 54 and the manner in 5 which they aresupported'on the cup or housing and a heating coil for 'said housing.means operated e w asoasis wbiie r have'illustrated anddescribed only asingle embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that myinvention is not limited to 'ments by an end of one leg thereof, apointer,

timvarying the position of said pin .insaidslot,andaheatingcoil-forsaidsecond withthermostat.

6. In an indicatorof the class described, the

combination ofasupport, apair of brackets 341-. 'justably mountedon saidsupport, a U-shaped bimetallic member mounted on each bracket bytheendof onelegofsaidmember,apin carried by'thefreeendof'theotherlegofeachofsaid bimetallic members, a pointer shaft,bearing means provided bysai'd housing for said shaft, a

a pointer shaft, means fixedly supporting said pointer shaftindependentl of said thermostatic elements, an arm attached to saidshaft, an actuating link operatively connecting s'aidarm with the? freeend of one of said thermostatic elements, means connecting the free endof the other thermostatic element with saidllnk to vary the relationshipbetween said linkv and said arm, each of said thermostatic elements. V2. An indicator of the class described, comprising a housing, a pointershaft pivotally and flxedly supported by said housing, a pointer car-.

ried by said shaft, an actuating thermostat mounted in said housing, aheatingcoil for said thermostat, an adjustable driving connectionbetween said thermostat and said pointer shaft, a

the end of one leg of each member, a pin carried pointer carried by saidshaft, an actuating arm carried by said shaft. said arm and pointerforming acom angle, said arm having a slot therein, links pivotallyattached to said bimetallic membersby said pins, a pinpassing throughsaidslot'andtosaidlinkaanda heating coil forv each of said bimetallicmembers.

I. In an indicator of the class dwcribed, the combination of a support,a pair of U-shaped bimetallic members mounted on said support by.

j by the free endof the other leg of each of said bimetallic members, apointer shaft, bearin means provided by said housing for said shaft,

1 ing an angle of approximately 8, said arm havsecond thermostat mountedin said housing, and

means operated by said second thermostat for links, and a heating colllic members.

varying said adjustable connection.

3. In an indicator of the class the. combination of a support,.a pair'ofbrackets..ad-

justably mounted on said support, a U-shaped bimetallic member mountedon each bracket by the end of one leg of said member, a pin'carsaidbimetallic members, a pointer shaft, bearing means provided by saidsupport for said shaft, a

- pointer carried by said shaft. an actuating arm carried by said shaft,said arm and pointer forming an angle of approximately 8, said'armhaving a curved slot therein, links pivotally attached to saidbimetallic members by said pins, a pin passing through said slot andconnected to said.

links, and a heating coil for each of said himetallic members.

4. In an indicator of the class described, the

combination of a pair of U-shaped mi-planar thermostatic elements, meansfor supporting each of said elements by an end of one leg thereof, apointer, a pointer shaft, means supporting said pointer shaftindependently of said thennos'tatic element. an arm on said shaft, anactuating link operatively connecting said arm with the free shaft, anactuating thermostat mounted in said -housing, a heating coil for saidthermostat,

means including a pin and slot forming'a driving d comried by the freeend of the other leg of each of ing a slot therein, linkspivotallyattached to 1 said bimetallic members by said pins, a pinpassing. through said slot and connected to said for each of saidbimetals. In an indicator or the class described, the

combination of a pair of thermostatic elements shaped to compensate forchanges in ambient -temperature, means for supporting each of said;

thermostatic elements, an actuating link operatively connectingsaidfpointeri shaft with the free end of one of said thermostaticelements.

means connecting the free end of the other thermostatic element withsaid' link to vary the relationship betweensaid link and said pointershaft, and heating means for each of said thermostatic elements.

9. An indicator of the class described, comprising a housing,,a pointershaft pivotally supported by said housing,'a pointer carried by saidshaft, an actuating thermostat mounted in said housing, a heatingcoilfor'said thermostat, an adviustable connection between said thermostatand said pointer shaft, a second thermostat mounted in said housing, andmeans oper-- ated by said second thermostat for varying said adjustableconnection, said driving. connection includingjan arm -onssidshaft atanangle tosaidpointerto contro compensation at of pointer mov ent.

- 10. indicator having voltage compensaone extreme tion, the combinationof a support, an actuating hers -U-shaped bimetallic and a compensatingushaped bimetallic membermounted on said supapin car'riedbyeachof saidbimetallic mema pointer "shaft, fixed bearing means provided by saidhousing for said shaft; a pointer carried bysaid shaft, an actuating armcarried by saidshaft, said arm andpointer'forming an angle controllingcompensation at one extreme connectionbetween said thermostat and saidpointershaft,aseccndthermostatmountedin of pointer movement, said armhaving a slot therein, hnks pivotallyiattachedto said bimetalby saidsecmd, ncmbersbrsaidp na' esmmslnsthm eh said slot and connected to saidlinks, and a heating coil for each of said bimetallic members.

11. In an indicator of the class described, the combination of a pair ofU-shaped thermostatic elements, means for supporting each of saidelements by 'an end of one leg thereof, a pointer, a pointer shaft,means fixedly supporting said pointer shaft independently of saidthermostatic element, an actuating link operatively connecting saidpointer shaft with the free end of one of said thermostatic elements, acompensating link connecting the other thermostatic element with saidactuating link to vary the relationship between said actuating link andsaid pointer shaft, and a heating coil for each of said thermostaticelements.

12. In an indicator of the class described, th combination of a support,a pair of brackets ad-' justably mounted on said support,-a bimetallicmember mounted on each bracket, 2. pin carried by each of saidbimetallic members, a pointer shaft, bearing means provided by saidhousing for said shaft, a pointer carried by said shaft, an actuatingarm carried by said shaft, said arm and pointer forming an angle of lessthan 10,

pointer shaft, means fixedly supporting said pointer shaft independentlyof said thermostatic elements, an actuating link operatively connectingsaid pointer shaft with one of said thermostaticelements, said linksbeing shiftable relative to said pointer shaft, means connecting thefree end of the other thermostatic element with said link to vary therelationship between said firstnamed thermostatic element and saidpointer shaft, and aheating coil for each of said thermostatic elements.

14. An indicator of the class described, comprising a housing, a pointershaft plvotally and fixedly supported by said housing, a pointer carriedby said shaft, an actuating thermostat mounted in said housing, aheating coil for said thermostat, an adjustable driving connectionbetween said therniostat and said pointer shaft, 9. second thermostatmounted in said housing at an angle to said first thermostat, meansoperated by said second thermostat for varying said adjustableconnection, and heating means for said second thermostat.

15. An indicator of the class described, comprising a housing, a pointershaft pivotally and fixedly supported in journals formed by the wall ofsaid housing, a pointer carried by said shaft.

an actuating thermostat mounted in said housing, a. heating coil forsaid thermostanan adjustable driving connection including a link betweensaid thermostat and said pointer shaft, a second thermostat mounted insaid housing. and means operated by said second thermostat for varyingsaid adjustable connection, said lastnamed means including a curvedlink, said links having ends connected to said thermostats and lying inthe same plane.

HOMER F. MALONE.

